What if? A Few Different Decisions
by dunuelos
Summary: A Series of One Shots where a few less mistakes were made various fandoms. West Wing, NYPD Blue, others. Just for my amusement. No real biting commentary or AU. Nothing of vast substance at all. At least, that's how it always starts …
1. West Wing: The Letter

What if he had signed the letter?

Episode 2x01: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen

* * *

"I need to speak to Leo McGarry before you give me the anesthesia." Jed Bartlet finished.

Ron Butterfield leaned over. "He's on his way as well."

The nurse next the President said, "I need to ask you a few questions. Do you …"

Before the nurse could complete her comment the President interrupted her. "Damn!"

Ron, concerned, leaned in. "What is it, Sir?"

"Does anyone around here have a pen and paper?" the President asked urgently.

Everyone in the room was confused for a moment. "Does ANYONE HAVE PEN AND PAPER?"

One of the medical personnel pulled a sheet from his clipboard and said, "Right here, Sir."

"Okay. Write this down exactly and get it ready for me to sign: Due to the necessity of my upcoming incapacity, I, Josiah Bartlet, President of the United States, hereby cede full Executive Authority of the United States of America to the Vice President of the United States until such time as I am able to once again perform my duties. This is done in accordance with the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution."

There was a new solemnity as the medical personnel worked to get the President ready for surgery. Finally the man finished the statement and said, "Done!" and handed the paper over to the President who was reaching for it, as well as the pen. The President rapidly signed this and said, "Give this to Leo when he gets here."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

"Good Evening, Mr. Vice President."

"Good Evening, everyone." John Hoynes said quietly as he moved to the head of the table.

Even as he was standing, Leo quietly commented to one of the Joint Chiefs. "Jack?"

The General got the meaning immediately and called, "Atten-HUT!"

Everyone stood up. Before the Vice-President could order them back down, Leo said, "Mr. Vice President. This letter was dictated and signed by President Bartlett before he went under anesthetic twenty minutes ago. As of that moment, you are now operating with full Executive Authority."

John Hoynes was solemn as he took the letter and read it. He saw the blood-stains on the paper where the President's hand had rested as he signed. He bowed his head and said quietly, "Thank you, Leo." With a much more strident voice, his confidence rising with each word, "Sit down everyone. What have we got?"

John Hoynes listened as the people at the table argued about different scenarios. When Nancy suggested he place the Armed Forces at Defcon 4 and Leo disagreed, he had one question. "Leo?"

"Yes, Mr. Vice President?"

"There was a third man, right?"

"Yes, Sir."

"What were their descriptions?"

"Sir?"

"What did they look like? Were they Middle Eastern? White? Black? What did the Secret Service say they looked like?"

Leo took a breath, "If I were to sum it up it would be 'Neo-Nazis'."

"Okay. Nancy, we're going with Leo right now. Until and unless we see significant provocative action, we're going to assume it's something other than the Middle East." Everyone at the table nodded. "Leo. How long before the President is likely to be ready to take it back?"

"Sometime tomorrow."

"Then let's get this third guy and have him wrapped up in a bow as a welcome back present by then."

Leo had a thought. "Mr. Vice President?"

John Hoynes looked interested. Leo turned to the table and asked, "What's the fastest way to get a message to Iraq?"

One of the aides said, "King of Jordan." After a pause the same aide asked, "What should the message say?"

Leo looked solemn as he said, "Don't mess with us tonight."

Everyone looked at the Vice- President, who nodded in sure agreement.

* * *

It was a cacophony in the press room as CJ tried to concentrate. One of the reporters asked, "When can we talk to the medical team?"

CJ muddled through the answer. "Benjamin Keller, the Chief Surgeon, and Admiral Jarvis, the President's personal physician, will be made available for a debriefing in a few hours." CJ took a breath and looked out to the rest of yelling reporters. Finally she pointed at Danny.

Danny asked with an almost harsh tone, "Has there been any discussion of the 25th Amendment?"

CJ nodded. "The President dictated and signed a letter before he went under anesthesia ceding full Executive Authority to the Vice President under the 25th until the President is once again able to perform his duties. As I already said: His wounds were fairly superficial, he is expected to be out of surgery by morning, he's expected to make a full recovery. So he is likely to be ready sometime tomorrow to take back Executive Authority."

"When can we see a copy of the letter?" he asked with less aggressiveness and a bit of surprise. He had honestly expected everyone to have forgotten in the chaos.

"I don't know. A number of other things are more pressing at the moment, but I will find out for you sometime tomorrow."

* * *

The Reporters were rabid in their questions, not allow the medical team to answer any before another was asked. Finally CJ called out, "Hold on!" The noise level dropped. "Okay. One at a time. Katie."

"What can you tell us about the President's condition?"

The President's personal physician replied, "His prognosis is excellent and there will likely be no permanent damage. He should be back on his feet later today."

"Followup: Can you describe the wounds?"

The head of the surgical team said, "No." And then nothing else.

Katie was irritated as she said, "Why not?"

Benjamin Keller laughed a bit as he said, "Because the President hasn't given the authorization yet! It takes more time than we've had for the anesthesia to work itself fully out and he is not in the medical position to give that authorization." The Doctor paused as he said, "The only reason we can tell you what we can is because his medical proxy said we could. Her words, exactly, were: 'Tell them how the surgery went, his prognosis, and how long before he's up. Then go get some sleep – you look like you need it. Jed can authorize details later when he's awake.' I'd like to point out that as medical professionals, the Admiral and myself have to follow the laws and practices of our profession. And without authorization from the patient or his medical proxy, medical information is still confidential. Even if the patient is the President of the United States."


	2. West Wing: A bit more decisive

A bit more decisive ...

Episode 3x20: We Killed Yamamoto

 **"… But it doesn't matter," the representative from the White House Counsel's office said.**

 **"Why?" the President asked as he sat down.**

 **"The entire chain of evidence leading us to Shariff originates from the Chechyan prisoner." He concluded.**

 **"Yeah." Jed Bartlet didn't understand the problem.**

 **The State Department rep took over. "His testimony was reached … after long physical abuse from Russian soldiers." The rep looked at the President, hoping he would understand.**

 **"He was tortured."**

 **"Yeah."**

 **"Well, I'm no lawyer," the President admitted, "but I'm pretty sure that's inadmissible."**

 **Everyone in the room watched as the President wrestled with his disappointment.**

Jed Bartlet sat back and contemplated a whole host of things. Finally, he asked Admiral Fitzwallace, "How necessary is the base in Qumar to our regional security?"

The Admiral considered that for a moment. "It provides a forward base should we ever have conflict with Iraq or Iran. Most of its operations could be dispersed to other bases in the area – if it became necessary."

The President nodded. He looked over at the State Department representative and asked, "How necessary is the US base to the Sultanate of Qumar? What would happen if we left?"

The State Department representative thought about it for a minute. "It would last about a year – maybe two. Without US presence, many European allies would begin looking to other countries for the oil they currently get from Qumar. Their economic independence would suffer. Iran couldn't afford to have any other Middle-East power controlling an area so close to their major areas of authority. They would almost have to invade. Without US support, they would lose within a month."

Jed Bartlet nodded and then asked with some seriousness, "One more question: How fond of his brother-in-law is the Sultan of Qumar?"

The State Department spokesman put in quickly, "As part of the Royal Family, the Sultan would have to protect Shareef from anything which might threaten him. It's part of Qumari law."

Jed Bartlet was irritated. "That's not what I asked. I asked: How fond of his brother-in-law is the Sultan of Qumar?"

The State Department spokesman replied quietly, "It would take a few hours to get that answered."

Jed nodded. "Quietly. No one outside of this room is to know what exactly you are finding out. We meet back in 6 hours." The President stood up, and the rest of the room followed. "One way or another, Abdul Shareef will no longer threaten the United States of America. What happens from here is to be considered the closest held information currently in existence. I need legal opinions from each one of you as to the legality, and feasibility, of every possible course of action." He paused. "Every course," he repeated. "Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

* * *

Once again, the same group of men was in the Situation Room. The President sat at the head of the table. There were no other people in the room except military techs in case they were needed.

Finally the President asked, "Okay. Let's go from easiest to hardest. What are my options?"

The White House Counsel lawyer volunteered, "Revoke Abdul Shareef's immunity and inform the Sultanate of Qumar that he will no longer be welcome in the United States. Inform the Sultanate through diplomatic channels and release the information to the public. Completely legal and feasible. We could ask the UN and Congress to consider sanctions."

Fitzwallace volunteered, "One sanction that is under your authority is to abandon the base in Qumar, withdrawing all personnel and resources to other bases in the region. It would cause a shift in the region. Our forces would have to protect themselves from immediate reprisal during the withdrawal. We would have to ask Congress to authorize closing the base. Otherwise, it could sit empty."

"That leaves Shareef still in a position to threaten US lives. Next option."

"We inform the Sultanate of what we have found and demand he be turned over to the Hague. Due to our laws, we cannot prosecute him, but the Hague has more latitude. It's legal. But not feasible. Qumari law prevents the Sultanate from extradition. If we arrested him under our laws here in the US, we would have to try him here. We cannot legally arrest him and turn him over to the Hague without authorization from Qumar."

"Yeah. And getting someone else to fight our battles would not be a popular move with the average US taxpayer. Next."

"We withdraw from Qumar, release the information, and demand Congress apprive withdrawing from the treaties we currently have with Qumar. Messy. Quite a few legal obstacles, but feasible. We would leave our troops more open to attack while the steps were being taken."

"Unacceptable."

"We ask the Sultanate to take care of Shareef. He might be dismissed as Defense Minister and put under house arrest. But that would be the limit of what the Sultanate could do to him. It wouldn't prevent Shareef from operating as command and control for terrorist activities. It would actually make it easier for him. The Sultan might end up replaced by Shareef within three years. And then we'd have major problems."

"Yeah. Not going to happen. Next."

There was a pause. "The final option is to take Shareef out." This came from Admiral Fitzwallace. "We go forward with the scheduled visit and take care of it after he leaves our airspace. As a Military man, it's the choice I would suggest."

Jed considered the head of the Joint Chiefs. Without any inflection he asked, "Why?"

Fitzwallace sat back and considered that. " **Can anyone here say with certainty when it's peacetime or wartime anymore? I don't know who the world's leading experts on war is, but any list of the top ten would have to include me. And I can't tell if it's peacetime or wartime anymore. In peace, certain people are protected. In war, there are a whole lot of more options**." He sighed.

"T **he Battle of Agincourt. This was the French, fighting against the British archers. This was like a Polo match. The battles were observed by heralds. And they picked the winners. And if a soldier lay down his arms? He was treated humanely. The international laws which protect certain persons, this is where a lot of them were written. At a time and place where a person could tell between peacetime and wartime. The idea of targeting one person? It was ridiculous. It would never have occurred to the French to try to kill William Pitt. That all changed after Pearl Harbor.** "

No one in the room was comfortable with what was being said, but all listened because the President gave no sign. " **We killed Yamamoto! We shot down his place. It was wartime and it was the best chance of ending it as quickly as possible with the smallest amount of loss. If the assignation of Hitler had been successful, we'd have had to explain that to our kids.** "

His voice became more passionate as he finished. " **We measure the success of the mission by two things: Was it successful and how _few_ civilians did we hurt? They measure success by how _many_. Pregnant women delivering bombs! International laws? The laws of _nature_ don't even apply here. I've been a soldier for 38 years. And I've found an enemy I can kill. The trip can't be cancelled. It gives us our only chance.** "

Jed considered Percy Fitzwallace for a long moment. Without turning his head he asked, "Legality?"

The State Department representative sighed. "There is a path through US law. If we ignore any International implications, it can be done. The International laws on this are murky."

Jed nodded slowly. He looked over at the State Department rep. "Did you get an answer to my question from earlier?"

The State Department rep nodded slowly. "All public indications are that the Sultanate's Ministers are all fully supportive of the Sultan's rule. Behind the scenes … there are issues. The Sultan himself is somewhat hamstrung by the conservative elements in his cabinet, the most effective member being Shareef. The marriage of Shareef to the Sultan's sister was engineered by factions wishing … more direct influence with the Sultan. The Sultan himself acts according to custom as regards his brother-in-law – but that's all. Truthfully, if nothing changes, with proper provocation the Sultan could be replaced in short order."

Jed nodded. "What's the feasibility of a direct video conversation between the Sultan and I without anyone else on his side knowing about it?"

Everyone was leery. Jed Bartlet said, "I want to have a private talk to prevent me, the President, from making an embarrassing mistake as regards Qumar. In Arabic culture, helping a friend or ally to save face is an acceptable reason for odd occurrences, as long as the rules of propriety are maintained. I wish my ambassador to set up a private, secure, video link between the Sultan and I to ask him to help me to save face – very hush, hush. It's too bad those listening learnt of my embarrassment. We won't saw WHAT I'm embarrassed about – just that I need his personal help. They can laugh about a weak president all they want. And if I have given the Sultan some blackmail? It can't be helped."

Leo was the only one who had the guts to say, "Why?"

"Cause, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to suggest that an investigation will find Bahi members who carried it out because we were too close to finding out something. He agrees – or he loses. It's this or, by God, the Sultanate of Qumar will be gone in two years at the most. I'm hoping he understands that. I'm tired of helping leaders appease people who are trying to kill us. If he disagrees, it's option two: Complete withdrawal and then releasing the information in full. He won't last out the year. I think I can agree to let us operate in his own best interest if he wants to stay in power."

The room considered that even as the State Department representative moved to call the US Ambassador to Qumar.

* * *

In the end, it went as Jed Bartlet had envisioned. Abdul Shareef's Lear jet disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico. Search and Rescue operations found nothing.

Two months later, the US and Qumar announced together the evidence that Bahi operatives had engineered the loss of the flight because Shareef had been secretly involved with the organization and evidence was about to be uncovered.

The evidence released by both governments was very convincing.

The US backed Qumar efforts to hinder the Bahi organization from operating within Qumar. Many madrasas were closed. Those that remained open were found to not be teaching Bahi operatives.

Qumar culture began to progress out of its formerly repressive rendition of Sharia Law.


	3. NYPD Blue: The facts of life

What if? A Few Different Decisions

Okay … just West Wing was too limited as a subject. I don't want to start a new thread for every fandom show that I have a random "What If" for.

So now I will include the Fandom and Episode …

NYPD Blue

Season 10, Episode 3

(Situation from show: Medavoy and Baldwin talk to Connie's brother-in-law about the situation with Connie's sister. Because they had no real prep and Medavoy tends to talk first and think afterwards, he screwed up the talk, telling the guy that his wife wanted him to disappear, when that wasn't true. This is what I would have liked Medavoy to actually say.)

Baldwin, with just using the strength of his hands, maneuvered Frank down onto a chair. Before Baldwin could say anything, Medavoy gave the man a cheerful grin. "Mr. Frank Colohan! Hi! I'm Detective Greg Metavoy. This is my partner, Detective Baldwin Jones. How are you doing?"

The man looked at the furious looking Jones and the cheerful Medavoy and said, "I don't know what I'm doing here." He looked around. "This is where my wife's sister works, right?"

Medavoy looked apologetic. "Oh! I'm sooorry. There's just a little matter of a misunderstanding. You see, Connie visited her sister and found that she had … well, _someone_ had hit her. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Frank started his first word and Greg interrupted. "Oh. Wait. Before you say anything, I should tell you. I'm the nice guy of the squad. I'm the guy who talks to you if you need a sympathetic ear and all of that. People make mistakes and, well, I understand that. I try to help people out, you know. But if they continue making mistakes, my very much younger and larger partner here," he pointed to the intimidating black detective, "well, HE has to talk to them. So before you make _another_ mistake and lie about it, let me ask again: You wouldn't know about how your wife showed up with bruises, would you?"

Looking at Baldwin, Frank said, "I lost my temper. I'm not normally like that! I love my wife!"

"Gooood. Goood. I'm glad to hear that. You see: Us cops, we see just about everything." Greg had a very earnest look. "People murdered, lying in their own blood and vomit, sometimes as payback for what they did to a loved one – like a guy beats his wife and winds up beaten himself – only this one ends up in the morgue. It's unfortunate. But it happens."

"What are you saying?" Frank asked nervously.

"Oh! Nothing, nothing. I'm just saying that we cops are pretty calm. Well, unless you hurt one of ours. Or a baby. Or a pregnant woman. Then … well, we get a little upset." Greg smiled at the man in a friendly manner. "You understand?"

Frank nodded. "Good. Cause … well a cop's family is just like a cop to us. You hurt a cop's family and suddenly 30,000 brothers and sisters are coming looking for you. You can understand how uncomfortable that could be. And if it's a pregnant woman: Shee." Greg looked very much like he was passing on something that was very important. "Then it's 30,000 mothers and fathers or aunts and uncles. And THAT's even worse."

Frank looked at Greg. "I understand."

Greg grinned at him. "Good! Good! Hey, as I said, I'm the nice guy here. So, no hard feelings." Greg reached out his hand to shake. Frank put his hand forward and suddenly Greg planted his forward foot and, shaping his hand into a fist, punched Frank right in the got. "OOO! I'm Sorry! My hand slipped! It was a mistake! Honest!" Greg had that grin again.

Frank was coughing. He barely got out, "I thought you were the nice one."

"I am! This IS us being nice about this type of thing. Now, if we have to speak again, then it's Baldwin who gets to talk to you." He turned his head. "Hey, Baldwin. What size shoes you got on?"

Baldwin looked at his partner and said, "Size 15."

"Really? Put one of those up here and let us see one."

Baldwin dexterously lifted his foot to the table and his foot was very large. "Now, if we have to talk again, imagine _that_ foot," he pointed to Baldwin's shoe, "stomping on _those_ balls." He pointed toward Frank's crotch area. "You get my meaning?"

Frank was fairly terrified at this point. He quietly said, "Yes."

Greg nodded. "Then, of course, there's the third option."

"Third option?" Frank couldn't help himself.

Greg looked earnest and scared. "Well, Connie is close to another detective. His name is Andy. And if Connie gets upset, then Andy might want to take care of things." Greg shuddered. "You do not want to meet Andy when he's pissed. I don't know of a cop in New York … _ANY_ cop in New York … who wants to get in Andy's way when he thinks one of his own was hurt. When Andy's pissed, we pretty much are 'Yes, Andy,' 'No, Andy,' and 'Anything you say, Andy.' And if Andy asked you to take a walk while he explains things to whoever has pissed him off … well, it's always nice to get fresh air. When you leave today, ask any cop in the borough what someone should do if Andy Sipowitz is after them for hurting someone he loves. I think … Hey – let's ask John. He's a civilian who works here. He doesn't know what I'm going to be asking. Watch his face."

Greg walked to the door and opened it. "John? Can you come here for a minute?"

The P.A.A walked into the room. "This is John. He's about the nicest guy in here. Him and Andy and I go way back." He turned to John. "John. Hypothetical question: If you knew that you had hurt someone and that Andy Sipowitz decided that whoever you hurt was important to him, what would your first reaction be?"

John's look of real fear struck Frank very hard. "Start calling the funeral homes and make sure I have a good spot picked out. Or confess and get locked up by any other cop before he could find me."

"Thanks, John. That's all." Greg nodded to the P.A.A. who left the room.

"Frank? Is any of this getting through your thick skull?"

Frank nodded quickly. "Good. We're going to let you go. Make certain you take the time to ask ANY random cop the same question I just asked John – just so you know I'm not making things up." He pointed to the door. "Go ahead."

Frank paused, looking between the Detectives and the door until he finally rushed to grab his wallet and keys and bolted. Greg and Baldwin walked into the hall to see Connie coming out of observation. She had a large smile. "Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Baldwin."

Greg nodded even as Baldwin replied with a grin. "No problem. I didn't know Greg could get that scary. It was a thing of beauty."

Greg gave an embarrassed grin. "Yeah, well, I hope he doesn't do anything too stupid again."


	4. NYPD Blue: Branch of the Poisoned Tree

NYPD Blue Season 9, Episode 7, Mom's Away

(Situation from show: Connie McDowell is spending her off time clandestinely watching the girl she gave up for adoption when she was fifteen. Although she had been warned against it by Andy Sipowitz, she can't seem to restrain herself. Unfortunately, she sees something which indicates the girl with marijuana and she is terrified that her daughter will go down the same bad road that she did until she got her life straightened out. In the show, she arrests her daughter and her friend … this whole thing eventually goes badly. In this case, as she's madly trying to figure out what to do … she makes a different decision …)

Connie McDowell pulled away from the school and got to the intersection. She was about to turn left, to make her way back to the precinct but she paused. She waited perhaps a bit too long and the car behind her honked its horn. Pulling herself together, she turned right to get out of the intersection. She then stops the car.

She turned to the two girls and asked her (unknown) daughter, "Where do you live?" The girl, terrified, answers her. "Is your mother home?" The girl nods.

Connie decided that she would go to the girl's house.

When they pulled up, Connie retrieved a few documents from her glove compartment and looked at the girls. "Wait here." The girls look incapable of doing anything else.

Connie walks up to the door and takes a deep breath. She then knocks.

An attractive woman, older than Connie, answers the door. "Mrs. Beck?"

"Yes? Can I help you?"

Connie pulls out her badge and says, "NYPD. Can I speak to you inside? I have your daughter in the back of my car, with a friend, as I observed them with a joint. I was about to take her to the station when I realized that this is likely a better solution."

Mrs. Beck looked at the car and said, "What do you mean?"

"Can we speak inside?"

She nods and allows the detective in. She looks out and sees her terrified daughter. She turns and the woman is looking at her.

"Look. Here's the truth. My name is Connie McDowell and I am a detective for the New York Police Department. When I was 15, I got pregnant and was forced to give my daughter up for adoption. When I became a detective, I used my new resources to find out who she was. Yes, your daughter is the girl I gave up.

"Unable to help myself, I've looked in on her. From everything I've seen, she's a healthy and happy girl. Unfortunately, seeing her with a joint put me over the edge. I don't want her to do what I did when I was 15. But the truth is … I should have never seen it. I can't honestly arrest her and interrogate her because, legally speaking? It's the branch from the poisoned tree.

"Instead, here's what I am doing." She gave the woman the folder she had brought with her.

"This is my contact information and my family's medical history. I know when your daughter applies to college that a family medical history is needed. And the fact that she is adopted makes that hard to retrieve. So here it is.

"I don't know if she knows if she's adopted or, if she knows, if she has ever wanted to meet me. Unfortunately for me, I know the law – and the law says that it's not for me to decide. It's for you to decide as you are her legal mother. So if she ever asks, I hope that you will allow me to get to know her, but I can't force you to.

"So, I am going to walk out of here with you and I am releasing her and her friend to your custody. Do what you want about the joint – I'll be keeping and destroying it.

"The rest? I leave up to you. I hope, at one point, to meet the girl I gave birth to. I'd like to get to know her. I'd like to get to know you. But as much as I was forced to give her up – I did. She's your daughter.

"Thank you."

Connie walked past the startled woman to her car and opened the door. "Get out."

The two teenage girls quickly left the car. Connie looked at them and at the woman who had followed her. She removed the handcuffs and closed the door. "I am not putting this on anyone's record. I am going to assume that this is a foolish teenage mistake. If I, or another cop, ever catch you again with marijuana, it won't be a drive back to the house for you. It will be an overnight in jail and a hearing in front of a judge. Your record will permanently reflect a drug arrest. Don't make us do that."

She turned to her daughter's mother and said, "Have a good day, ma'am."

She then got in her car and drove away, fighting the tears that were coming out of her eyes.

The three women, one older and two teenagers, watched as the car drove away. Finally the woman looked at the girls and said, "I think we need to talk."


End file.
